"Memories really do become labile, and thus fragile, every single time we use them." #readingToday

All in all, the evidence in favor of memory reconsolidation is overpowering. Memories really do become labile, and thus fragile, every single time we use them. Once in this state they can easily be disrupted, either by newer learning which interferes with them or by chemicals that prevent them from being stored (or reshelved). Reconsolidation provides the perfect mechanism for updating memories. Sleep, on the other hand, appears to be critical for "battening down the hatches," or strengthening a memory such that it is more resistant to interference (so long as it doesn't get reactivated in subsequent wake, that is). Critically, reconsolidation also provides the missing mechanism for the overnight therapy concept: Reactivation of memories in sleep without the associated bodily responses essentially disarms the memory, stripping it of emotional content.

(Moon+ Reader Pro v2.3.3, The Secret World of Sleep: The Surprising Science of the Mind at Rest (MacSci))